His Prodigy
by chelash
Summary: Based on my work experience week. “I'm Dr House, and this is LissyLou Who, an annoyingly perky student who is in the twelfth grade in high school, who's sadly planning on becoming a diagnostician.” House is stuck with a work experience student for a week.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: First and foremost, I would like to thank (again) _**Danielle Lynne**_, my _brilliant beta__._

Second of all, this was inspired by my week of work experience at a physiotherapist centre.

Thirdly, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own David Shore's brilliant creation of House, MD.

His Prodigy

"I'm so happy to be-"

"At least somebody's happy about it." House mumbled, placing a hand on the door labeled 'exam room 1'. He flung the door open and entered the empty room. The student scampered in on after him, a grin still plastered on her face. She sat herself up on the patient's seat, and looked with excited eyes at House's grumpy demeanor.

"So, who's our first patient?" she asked, an edge of over-excitement in her voice.

House glared at the small, glasses-wearing brunette, face covered in teenage acne, with her annoyingly joyful mood, and shuddered. "YOU, if you're not careful."

The girl ignored that, and started to pan her eyes around the room in awe.

"Why, oh why," House began, theatrically, "did I have to get stuck with you for a whole _five_ days? What have I done to the big busted mistress to make her be so cruel to me in this way?"

The student answered him as she looked around the room, "If you're talking about Dr Cuddy, well; I believe it was because you purposefully disgraced her in front of the state director of nephrology. Mr. Davis, I think his name was." She then looked back at him, slyly.

"Hey! How'd you know that?" he asked, grinning with sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"I use these highly advanced things, they're called _ears_." The girl rolled her eyes.

"Well," House tutted, "Aren't you just the smart one!"

He walked to the door, and held it open. "Well, come on Miss Know-It-All."

The student hopped off the seat, and paused for a moment. "Lis Thomas, thanks."

House scoffed, "What kind of parent names their kid 'Lis'?"

She turned her face up to scowl at him, "It's a nickname. Long story."

She followed House, and nearly barreled into him as he stopped suddenly in front of the long queue of impatient people, some sniffling, or coughing in hope that they would get moved up the list.

"My name is Doctor House; this is…Lissy-Lou Who…but back to me. I'm the infamous sadistic, unsympathetic individual that has a specialty in nephrology and infectious diseases. Yes, people, I might just save your life today. Be grateful. They don't pay me enough." He shot a withering look at Cuddy, who was standing in the doorway to her office. He faced back to the crowd of patients, "Now, this annoyingly perky student standing next to me is in the third…I'm sorry, twelfth grade in high school," he paused, heaving a fake sigh, "and is, unfortunately, planning on becoming a diagnostician. So the school's guidance counselor, with the help of an evil director of medicine named Dr Lisa Cuddy, has arranged for her to follow me around like a little duckling whilst I make up for my clinic duty hours."

All eyes fell on Lis, who waved with a smile. "Hi."

"So, who's first?" He grabbed a file from beside him, "Matthew Lawson. Your time is up. Exam room 1."

Nobody moved.

"Matthew Lawson?"

Silence.

"Come out; come out to play, Mattie." House said, an evil snare edging into his voice.

A young man put his newspaper down, his face appearing with a blush of red. "I'm…Matthew…Lawson…"

"Oh my god! Really?!" House exclaimed, slapping his hands to his face and making an 'o' shape with his mouth.

"Err, yes," The man still looked quite embarrassed.

House changed his tone, and spoke in a deeper, darker, more menacing tone. "Follow me."

Matthew Lawson; crumpled newspaper in one hand, which covered at least one quarter of his body, moved nervously behind Lis, and glanced apprehensively back to the waiting room of people, wishing somebody could go first instead of him.

Lis was first into the exam room; she pulled up a chair, whilst Mathew sat down on the big blue plastic covered seat.

House entered, somewhat gracefully, and sat in front of Matthew, who still with his newspaper crumpled up on his lap.

House reached for the manila file, labeled 'Lawson, Matthew.' He flipped it open, and his eyes bulged, and a small grin crept mischievously over his small lips. He flipped the file closed, and placed it on a nearby table. He then pulled some gloves out of a compartment on the wall, and turned to the fidgeting patient.

"So, what seems to be the problem, Mattie?" House began, snapping on his gloves in an indecently loud manner.

Matthew squirmed uncomfortably in the chair. "Umm…aren't you supposed to ask me if I would like 'the student' present or not? I have my rights," he stammered.

House glanced at her, and then back to Matthew. "Well, according to protocol, yes. But not me. That's just how I roll." He winked at Lis, beside him, who just rolled her eyes.

Matthew looked even more uncomfortable. "Umm...okay, then. Look, I have a problem…"

"Yes…" both mentor and student leant in.

Matthew leaned further in the chair, and frantically whispered something in House's ear. To Lis, it sounded all jumbled, but she could hear the anxiousness in his hushed tone.

"Sorry, can't hear. Speak up." House exclaimed, grinning mischievously at the younger girl beside him.

Matthew's beetroot red blush flared up again, and he whispered again in House's ear.

House shook his head, "Look, Matthew. I went to a Beatles concert once…and Boom! Bam! Wham! My hearing hasn't been the same since."

Matthew finally gave up, and flung the newspaper that he'd been holding so tightly to his mid-section away, and revealed all.

House's eyes glinted with hilarity, whilst Lis's bulged. Seconds later, House flung his hands over the youngest eyes in the room, shielding her from the view.

"Not in front of the child!" he exclaimed.

"Hey!"

House felt his hands being shrugged off and a pissed-off glare was directed at him. "I'm 18!"

"And still a virgin," House countered.

Lis's cheeks turned a relatively similar shade to Matthew's. "How do you know?"

He looked her up and down. "Are you seriously asking me that question?" He turned back to Matthew. "Steroids?" he asked, bluntly.

"No. I just told you….err…sex."

House rolled his eyes, "Sure."

"Dr House," Lis spoke up, trying to make sure her eyes avoided Matthew's and his enlarged package, "The patient wouldn't lie-"

"Everybody lies. You've got a lot to learn, Sweet cheeks."

"Drop 'em," he said to Matthew.


	2. Chapter 2

Matthew Lawson practically ran down the hallway, paper pressing down on his midsection, and a small container of tablets in the other, eager to escape the hospital as fast as he could.

Lis stared back after him and then glared at House. "It's become obvious to me that you don't have a very good bedside manner," she said, accusingly.

House stared back down at her, "You get that." He told her in a careless tone, he then grabbed a file from the increasing pile at the nurse's station, and announced loudly. "Now, next patient to be called to my chamber of death is Diana Bridgestone," A larger woman stood up and calmly walked to the exam room.

House sat down at his chair. "I'm going to, for once," he grinned at Lis, "follow protocol, and announce that I have a work experience student and ask if you would mind if she sits in on the consult?"

The woman nodded, "That's fine." She then turned to beam at Lis, who automatically smiled back.

House glanced at the file, "Pain in the hip."

"Yes," the woman nodded, indicating with her hand where it was on her own body.

Even though House had a good idea of what it was, he thought he should let his little prodigy figure it out.

The woman lifted her shirt and laid down on the bed. House motioned Lis toward the woman. Lis moved shyly, however, there was a small spring in her step as she realized that she was going to be part of the diagnosis.

"Lis, place your fingers on the hip joint." Lis did as she was told; she placed two small, dainty fingertips on Diana Bridgestone's hip. "Gently prod the joint, you should be able to feel the bursa," he moved her fingers over the area. "Right _there._ Don't move it too much, though. I've already gotten three lawsuits this month."

"It feels okay," Lis mumbled.

"That's because it's the wrong hip," Diana responded.

House rolled his eyes, "Well, of course it's the wrong hip! How else is she going to compare the two? Duh!"

Both women glared at him. House promptly ignored that and spoke to Lis again. "The other hip, now."

Once again, Lis placed her two fingertips on Diana Bridgestone's hip bone and pressed gently.

"It's a bit-" she began, before jumping back as Diana groaned in pain.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, a shock of horror crossing her face.

"It's okay, love," Diana replied, wincing a bit.

"Um, I'm sorry to break up this little apologizing party, but I have a patient to diagnose and my student is withholding critical information. Care to share, Lis?"

Lis straightened herself, "It felt swollen, and I'm guessing, fairly tender."

House nodded in encouragement, "Any ideas?"

Lis paused to think for a moment, her eyes suddenly looking distant for a moment, before an idea brought her back to reality. "An inflammation?"

"Which means?"

"Umm…something is inflamed??"

House nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Pretty much, an inflammation is a biological response to a foreign body. It creates swelling around the affected around the area..." As he explained it further, he was glad to see Lis was actually listening to what he said, taking it all in, unlike some of the College prac students that he'd had over the last few years.

He asked her another question, "What was the area of the hip?"

Lis stared at him, confused.

"What was the area I mentioned before?" he repeated.

"Um…the Bursa?"

"Correct. Which means?"

Lis paused for a moment, to place all the puzzle pieces together in her head. "She has an inflammation of the hip Bursa?"

House nodded once more, "What's the name given to inflammation?" he pressed, intrigued to see how much she knew.

"-itus…" she drew out the word, as if she wasn't too sure about the answer.

"Therefore meaning….?"

"She has Bursitis?" Lis announced, still in an unsure voice.

"Congratulations, you've just diagnosed a patient."

Lis started to smile as she realized what she had just done. Even though she knew that she'd correctly diagnosed Diana was because House kept giving her information, and then getting her to put in the blanks, she still felt a wave of achievement wash over her.

Diana Bridgestone interrupted the moment of euphoria, "So I have Bursitis?"

"No, you have the chicken pox," House countered sarcastically, writing out a referral form. "Go get yourself so physiotherapy, and lay off dance classes for a few weeks."

Diana looked confused, "How did you know?"

House smirked as he answered. "The short and skirt that you are wearing indicates that you just came from work, the is no dampness on your head that would indicate sweating, meaning that you drove, but only somebody with feet problems, such as blisters from high-heeled shoes would wear their faded, worn-out joggers to work."

"You are so cruel, sometimes, Dr House."

Mentor and student walked down the hall to the open clinic, ready to announce their next patient.

"And you are too nice."

Lis stopped, and moved to the side of the wall, to let the other people in the hall pass freely through. "I'm not too nice. I'm not a pushover," she glared at him.

House snorted, "Oh, please. You like puppies, The Wizard of Oz and long walks on the beach."

"Do not," Lis stared up at him through her glasses, defiant of his ruling.

House nodded, "Yes you do. Your goal is to go Turkey and rescue all the orphaned dogs. You sing along with Dorothy and the little munchkins as she begins her journey on the Yellow Brick Road. You have a pair of ruby slippers that you would wear and click your heels together three times, you firmly believe that the director's son didn't hang himself in the background of the Oz set. And EVERYONE likes walks on the beach."

Lis looked down, slightly embarrassed and beaten. "My mom did have these red sparkly shoes…" she admitted.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: No reviews for chapter two!? Was it bad, was it good? Please let me know! Errgghh.. I guess flames can be accepted..._

_and then will promptly be used to bake cookies - which will be given to reviewers. Comprende?_

* * *

"Is there any other pain?"

"No," House's latest patient, Charlie Harrow, replied. "Only a headache."

House, Lis and Charlie sat in the small room, with the lights dimmed; House had the file in his hand, examining it. His eyes not leaving the page, he reached for the banana shaped instrument from a bench, and handed it to Lis. "Stick the piece in his ear," he instructed.

She pushed it into his ear, and seconds later, pulled it out again as it beeped. "96.7. That's normal, right?"

House nodded. "It's only when it goes up into the hundreds that we have a _bit_ of a problem. Such as…?"

"Fever, delirium?"

"Bingo." House shone a torch in Charlie's eyes. "Pupils reactive…" he muttered.

"How long have you had this headache, Mr. Harrow?" Lis asked him.

"A few days. It started out as a dull ache here," he pointed to his left side of his forehead, "but now it's just too painful to ignore any longer. It's one of the worst headaches I've ever had."

House turned to Lis, "I need ideas."

Lis paused, "Err…Migraine?"

House nodded, "It's plausible. What else?"

Lis wracked her brain, she couldn't think of anything else that would explain _just_ a headache. It was just ONE symptom. It wasn't enough. Unless…

"If his only symptom is a headache, it could just be the onset of something else, like the flu, but it could be a bleed…" She quietly answered. When House gave her a look that said, 'Go on' she added, "in the brain. A brain hemorrhage."

Charlie Harrow looked at both in surprise and horror. "My brain is bleeding?" he exclaimed. "Can you fix it?"

House ignored Charlie and spoke directly to Lis, "Well, what should we do, Lis?"

She took a deep breath, "A CT can detect bleeds in the brain, so I would schedule him for a CT scan." She glanced from House to Charlie's terrified face.

House nodded his head, "Phone's over there. Tell them that Dr. House requires the CT scan for a Charlie Harrow."

Lis nearly ran over to the white phone hanging on the wall. She grabbed it, and dialed the numbers that House called out. It only rang a few times before somebody picked up. "Err…Dr. House needs to schedule the CT scan for Charlie Harrow," she stammered, her hands shaking.

She was surprised that House didn't look worried; he actually looked quite calm. On the other hand, Charlie Harrow looked like he was about to soil himself in the thought of his brain bleeding. And herself? She was scared. Or was it nerves that made her stomach feel so wound up?

After she hung up, it was only a few minutes until some nurses came and Charlie had been put onto a gurney and been taken out of the room.

Lis and House followed closely beside the bed. Lis gripped onto the side rails and House barked information at the nurses that seemed like jumbled words to Lis. She stared down at the patient; his eyes had closed. It didn't surprise her, she, too, wanted to close her eyes and block out everything.

Charlie's head rolled on the pillow, leaving a trail of crimson fluid in its wake.

Lis tugged at House's arm, heavily.

"What?" House snapped at her, not impressed at being interrupted in his tirade on the nursing staff.

She pointed to the fluid on the pillow, "That's not normal, is it?"

A look of recognition crossed House's face. "No, it's not."

Seconds later, the rapid beeping of the heart rate machine, that was hooked up to Charlie Harrow's finger, filled the room.

House announced, "I need a crash cart!"

Dozens of nurses filled the room, and Lis got shoved behind the hustle, staring in horror at the scene unfolding in front of her.

House was even more infuriated with his calls to the nurses, "Get him stabilized on transit to theatre! It's a lateral aneurysm, left cortex, temporal lobe!"

The gurney trailed up the hall at a fast pace, swarmed by doctors and nurses. It swung round a corner, leaving Lis standing, alone, in the hallway.


	4. Chapter 4

Many hours passed before House even realized that his student prodigy was missing

Many hours passed before House even realized that his student prodigy was missing. He was sitting in his office; Pink Floyd blared through his stereo. Charlie Harrow had died on the operating table. He had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and he had simply bled out.  
He was just 36. His family had arrived soon after the time of death was announced, a wife and three sons – ages 4, 9 & 13.

"I don't understand, he only had a headache! It was ONLY a headache!" the wife had screamed as she fell into hysterics.

"I'm sorry," House had whispered, his voice rough, which could be mistaken for an unsympathetic statement. He walked away.

Cuddy's footsteps interrupted his musing; he lifted his head, red blotches on his face from where he'd hung his head in his hands.

"24 year old female presents nothing but a high toxicity of ammonia in her blood." She hung the file out in front of him, half expecting him to jump on it.

House remained silent.

Cuddy left the file on his desk, and then walked out, before pausing before the door. "Has Lis Thomas left already?"

House blinked once, then twice. Lis Thomas. He'd forgotten about her. He had left her standing in the clinic floor hallway.

"Yeah, she was a bit stirred up with the Harrow case. So I sent her home," he replied, with almost no expression.

Cuddy smiled warmly at him, "See, you can be nice," she then turned on her heel, and left.

House paused for a second and then followed suit.

It hadn't taken him long to find her. He opened the tall, solid wooden doors, and there she was, on her knees, in the aisle of the darkened room.

He walked slowly as he approached her, and slid a large, warm hand on her shoulder.

He opened his mouth to confirm what he knew she already knew. "Charlie Harrow died before he could get to surgery."

Lis nodded, a lone tear sliding down her face. "An aneurysm."

House breathed out, "Yeah."

"An aneurysm is a blood filled anomaly that can grow in the brain," she began softly; "It can sometimes present as a headache, as the growth weakens the brain tissue or nerves, thus causing pain. It can burst, causing the brain to bleed out." She paused. "A Hemorrhagic Stroke." She felt her voice catching before she paused once more. "If left too late, or untreated, it's fatal." Her body shook as she heaved in a huge gulp of air into her lungs.

"Perfect." It was all House could say; she was right, that was the textbook definition of an aneurysm.

Lis slowly moved her head up to face her mentor, the one that she had grown some great respect for, "Does it get any easier?"

It was a vague question, but House knew exactly what she meant. "Yes, in a way. It still hurts a little bit every time you have to do it, but yes, it does get easier."

"Truly?"

House nodded and held out his free hand. "Let's go, my little prodigy." He said, as Lis took it and followed him back outside the chapel.


	5. Chapter 5

It hadn't taken him long to find her

A/N: Okay, guys. This is the last chapter. So please, if you haven't reviewed, please take a few seconds to give me some feedback.

Once again, thanks to Danielle Lynne – brilliant beta – and please check out her stories, including "Everybody Out Of The Water", my personal favourite.

It hadn't taken him long to find her.

As he opened those familiar, tall, solid wooden doors, he saw her, on her knees in the aisle.

His footsteps quieted as he approached her, and he slid a large, warm hand onto her shoulder.

"Lis," he murmured.

A lone tear spilt down her cheek and her body shuddered with every ragged breath she took.

"You're making this a habit and it's only your second day back," he joked lightly, knowing he wouldn't get a reply to that crack.

"Did you do the autopsy?" she whispered.

"Yes, he had Pseudomyxoma Peritonei. The appendix was destroyed. The chest cavity was perforated with fibrous adhesions."

Lis didn't blink as she put all the pieces of the 'puzzle' together. "That would explain the mucinous mass on his Epigastrium; it also explains why he didn't respond to the Norepinephrine and Dobutamine treatment."

"Perfect."

"We couldn't have saved him anyway, could we? I mean, he has a wife and kids. Couldn't we at least kept him on life support for a bit longer?"

"No, Lis. He was gone weeks ago."

There was a silence that hung between them for a few moments, before she spoke again. "Do you remember how you told me it got easier?"

House nodded, "I do."

The tear-stained face of Allison Cameron stared back up at him. "Does it really?"

House shook his head, his face surprisingly apologetic. "No, it never does. And it'll always hurt," he said, quietly.

"Then why-?"

"I thought I could make it easier, to make it not hurt whenever I had to tell a mother, a father, a wife, a husband, that their loved one was dead. But I just can't. It'll always be hard, it'll always hurt." He held his hand out to her, "Let's go, Lis."

She sniffed and half smiled. "Don't let Chase and Foreman hear you call me that," she said grabbing his hand and hauled herself up off of her knees.

House put his hand around her shoulder and held onto her tight. "Hey, Cameron?" he asked softly.

"Yeah?" she replied, wiping her stray tears with the back of her left hand.

"You're atheist, why come to a chapel?" he asked, gently.

"It's the only place I can get some peace around here. I also knew that even if Chase and Foreman were looking, you would be the first to find me."

House didn't know what to say, so he asked another question. "Another thing; why Lis? Why not Allie?" he asked, after years of curiosity and never the right moment to ask.

"Because Allie always led to Allie-Cat," she responded.

"What's wrong with Allie-Cat? It's kinda catchy."

She turned in his arms, so that she was looking him right in the eye. "I hate cats. You were right, I do love puppies."

A/N: Just to clear anything up; the first half is set back in the 90's, before Cameron even started at University, (grade 12 in high school to be exact) and is set on the first day of her work experience. The second part is on the 2nd day when she comes back to work under House as a qualified Immunologist, so basically way before the actual House show starts. Also, I am really sorry to all the dedicated Hameron fans out there who might have gotten their hopes up, I couldn't bring myself to make them a pair, as much as I am a Hameron shipper, I just wanted to keep it mentor and student type of relationship.


End file.
